another kind of vicious circle...

[zoey]

When you go to the doctor to check on your hypochondrias (the phantom illnesses) do you ever start to  dig up more things? In my case, before I even go to the doctor, I start thinking about other things that might potentially be wrong (perhaps previous hypochondrias) so that I can have extra reassurance, and if it happens that I didn't ask the doctor about them, I would keep thinking about them and start a whole new phase of hypochondria. And, if there arent any extra things to check on, I'll get a temptation to recheck previous things, and the same thing happens all over again. It's like a never ending cycle. Sometimes, even after I come back from the doctor, I start thinking about things that i might've missed.

BTW, I found a way to control the hypochondria (to a certain extent) try this: count the days (on a piece of paper, etc.)  since your last thought about hypochondria. i.e. start counting today, and keep counting, but remember the first day. After a month or so, you can look back and actually see the number of days you spent thinking about this damned thing. It helps a bit.

[hkov]

zoey, I know what you mean.  Your mind creates more "symptoms, illnesses" as you get worse.  Its such a vicious cycle. Do you think your mind "creates" pain.  Your mind CAN do that I was wondering if that ever happens to you. heather

[zoey]

hi Heather. Ya, I think my mind does create pains. They're usually more like sensations that I interpret as pain i think. I mean, usually when I get these sensations, I can think of them as tolerable ones (or maybe ones that could've been going on in the background) but then when I focus on them (involuntarily) they start getting more detailed and sharp. I get many funny tingly sensations all around, but sometimes they happen repeatedly in a specific area, and that's when I worry. I think when I worry and start focusing, that's when they become less random and more specific and become a symptom/pain.  :)
zoey